Scoring is done in four categories, each with their own weight towards the final score.

Performance (40% of the final score) - Though I couldn't locate any +12V sense wire on any of the fixed connectors, clearly this power supply has superior +12V regulation. The +3.3V and +5V rails dropped considerably, but these are called "non-primary rails" for a reason. And although we saw some horrible voltages when the unit was crossloaded, fact of the matter is you would never see these kinds of loads in real life unless you're using this power supply to power a very old PC or you're powering something this unit isn't designed to power. Ripple suppression looked good and despite the funky screenshot of our power supply's +12V rise during the overshoot transient testing, it is within spec. Also, we did meet our 80 Plus Bronze expectations. The fan was loud at full load and left us wondering why PC Power & Cooling didn't switch out the de-facto Adda 120mm fan for a quieter 140mm fan, especially considering this is for the "Silencer" product line. All and all, is this power supply "superior" in any respect? No. Is it better than mediocre? Certainly. Score here is an 8.5.

Functionality (20% of the final score) - The Silencer Mk III is semi-modular and is a compact size (what 600W isn't these days?). Any user that would need a 600W power supply would surely end up using all three fixed cables. I'm left a little confused about the lack of 5.25" peripheral connectors. I certainly don't think that there should be less SATA power connectors. Not that someone would actually have six SATA devices in their machine. It's nice to have two separate cables so one can go to optical drives up high in the chassis and hard drives down low in the chassis, but fans and other peripherals that use the "Molex" power connector can be located throughout the chassis and there's no way a single cable with 120mm between each of it's three connectors is going to be able to power everything without using splitters or extension cables. What I would do is fix one of the SATA power connector cables and then include a second peripheral power connector cable. Then I would be giving this unit a score of 9.5 in this category instead of 9.

Build Quality (20% of the final score) - Despite the fact that this is a group regulated power supply, it's group regulated built well. All 105°C rated Chemi-Con capacitors are used, the unit is rated to run continuously up to 50°C and ran perfectly fine under our own 37°C conditions. The only real complaint is less than perfect soldering. Score here is 9.5.

Value (20% of the final score) - Currently, this unit is $89.99 (hard price) at Newegg. Given the fact that this is a semi-modular power supply and is 80 Plus Bronze, that's a pretty decent price. As if that's alone isn't going to give the Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W a run for it's money, there's currently a $20 mail in rebate (valid from now until the end of November 2011) on this bad boy as well! Value score is a 9.5.

((8.5*4)+(9*2)+((9.5*2)*2))/10 = A 9.0 final score. That means the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W gets a jonnyGURU.com Recommended award.

Now hold on... I have to point out that the issuing of the jonnyGURU.com recommended logo didn't come without it's reservations. With the PC Power & Cooling badge, there typically comes high expectations. This power supply didn't meet a lot of expectations, but fair is fair. Let's put this into perspective....

They promised 80 Plus Bronze efficiency, and we got that. Are there a lot of power supplies out there that are 80 Plus Silver, Gold and now Platinum? Yes, but those also cost more than $89.99. Was the non-primary rails lack luster in regulation and didn't this unit go whack-o under cross loads? Yes, but they are non-primary rails, +12V regulation was beyond perfect and extreme cross loads are not your normal set of loads. Keep in mind, the performance score of 8.5 hurt this unit's final score more than anything. Build quality was really good and this unit will easily out last the 5 year warranty provided by OCZ. Ripple's within spec and what we saw during the rise-time is within spec and would have no ill effect on your computer.

I see no reason for beating up on PC Power & Cooling for going with the SS-600ET as a base. I just wish they would have done more than take one, make it semi-modular and paint it white. Upgrade that fan to a 135mm or 140mm fan so it's a little quieter at full load. And, like I said, fix one of the SATA cables. You know 99.9% of the people using this power supply probably have all SATA hard drives and probably even a SATA optical. Just give me one more peripheral power connector for my case fans, water pump, fan controller, CCFL... whatever I may have that uses the good ol' "Molex" power connector.

The Good:

• +12V regulation is perfect
• Ripple suppression is decent
• All Japanese, 105°C rated Chemi-Con capacitors
• 80 Plus Bronze
• Semi-modular
• Great price

The Bad:

• Only one cable with three connectors for peripheral power connectors

The Mediocre:

• Loud 120mm Adda fan
• Group regulated design lends itself to wacky crossload voltages
• Non-primary rails' voltage regulation was below average